Olivia Chow
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Olivia Chow(鄒至蕙, pinyin: Zōu Zhěhůi) is a social democratic Canadian politician and city councillor in Toronto. Born in Hong Kong, Chow emigrated to Canada when she was thirteen years old. As a result, she enjoys fluency in two of her constituency's dominant languages, Cantonese and English. She is nationally prominent as a New Democratic Party candidate for Member of Parliament (MP), and as the wife of NDP leader Jack Layton.
Chow first became active in politics working with local NDP MP Dan Heap. With his support, she ran for school board trustee, and won in 1985. Popular on the school board, she was elected to Toronto city council in 1991. Ward 20, in the riding of Trinity—Spadina, has long been home to a diverse group of communities in the core of Canada's largest urban centre. Chow has been re-elected to city council by wide margins ever since 1991.
In 1997, she ran as the New Democratic Party candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in Trinity—Spadina. The NDP won no seats in Ontario, but Chow placed a strong second to Liberal Party incumbent Tony Ianno.
Chow has been an advocate for the homeless, public transit, and many other urban issues that promote sustainable development. She has also been a vociferous opponent of the proposed Toronto Island Airport expansion, a controversial plan by the Toronto Port Authority that would increase air traffic over Ward 20.
Following the amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto, she and her husband Jack Layton were prominent members of the city council. While sometimes critical of right-leaning mayor Mel Lastman and other suburban councillors, they worked with councillors across political lines to achieve practical progressive measures. Layton left his seat on council to become federal leader of the NDP. Both were strong supporters of David Miller's successful 2003 campaign to become Mayor of Toronto.
Chow was forced to resign her position on the Toronto Police Services Board as a result of comments she made about police attempts to quell riots in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Some argued, however, that she was ousted for her outspoken attitude towards alleged police misconduct.
Chow is renowned for her trademark bicycle, decorated with flowers and bright colours. She rides every day to Toronto City Hall, and carless commuting is consistent with her environmentalist values.
Chow has been voted "Best City Councillor" on numerous occasions by Toronto's left-wing alternative weeklies Now Magazine and Eye Weekly. She maintains generally strong popularity in the city as an honest and hard working political veteran.
In 2004, Chow won the Trinity—Spadina NDP nomination for the summer federal election, giving her another chance to unseat Tony Ianno of the Liberal Party. Her other opponents primarily were David Watters of the Conservatives and Anna Costa of the Green party. With support from Jack Layton, a new urban focus of the NDP, and higher party popularity nationwide, she was widely expected to win despite some criticism from voters who elected her to a municipal seat just six months prior. She managed another strong second place showing, but failed to unseat Ianno by only 2% of the total vote. Many suggested strategic voting took place, where fear of a possible Conservative government drove votes that would have gone to Chow to Ianno, a Liberal member.
Chow championed the novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood in the 2005 edition of Canada Reads.
In 2005, she revealed that she had undergone surgery for thyroid cancer in 2004. She decided to speak out in order to raise awareness of the disease. [1] (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/04/13/chow-050413.html)